Envelope



E. R. WHITE May 3, 1949.

ENVELOPE Filed Dec 2l, 1945 Patented May 3, 1949 U N [TED STAT ES PATENT l: FICE ENVELOPE Edward R. White, New Rochelle, N. Y. ApplicationDecember 21, 1945, Serial No. 636,302.

Q'Clainis. l

This invention relates to envelopes and more particularly to meanssecuring the contents in the same.

Theobject of theinvention is to utilize the material necessary for ablank form of an ordinary envelope, and provide therefrom the necessaryparts to seal the envelope.

The invention consists in providing the usual enveloping member closedat all sides, excepting for the-ap end, with a sheath at the flap end,this sheath having an entrance slot, a tongue being pro-vided to enterthe slot and be held by the sheath, the tongue bridging the open end ofthe envelope. The tongue is provided with means for securing theenvelope against accidental opening, or the tongue may be made in twoparts, one for detachable closing the open end. of the envelope, and theother tongue for sealing the envelope. The tongue may be placed offcenter to the slotA in the sheath to provide a friction hold.

The invention will be further described hereinafter, embodiments will beshown in the drawings, and the invention will be finally pointed out inthe claims.

1n the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 is' a perspective view of the improved envelope, showing in fulllines the tongue inserted, and in dotted lines the tongue whenextracted;

Fig. 2 is a partial longitudinal section taken A on line 2 2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is al diagrammatic drawing of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a transverse end section taken on line Ali-i of l;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary enlarged View of. the tongue in the sheath;

Fig.A 6 is a plan of the shown1 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 is a partial perspective View of a modified form of tongue;

Fig. 8 is a rear view of the structure of Fig. 7 in. sealed` position;

Fig. 9 is a front view of Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 isa section taken on line Ill--I 0 of Fig. 8;

Fig. 11- is another modified form of the tongue;

Fig. l2 is still another modified form of the tongue, and

Fig: 13 is a modi-fied form of the` sheath ap.

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughoutthe various'4 views.

Referring to the drawings, the` blank for the envelope shownv inf Figs.ly to 4, is shown in Fig. 6. 'If'hisblankf` has aA front portion lil., abaci: portion Il, anda cooperatingl backv portion I2, these backportions II` and; |52 extending` laterally of theblank for the envelopefront portion I. The lower part of the front portion IE)l is providedwith a flap I3. The backl portions II and i2 areV provided with lanesI4- of adhesive. The upper part ofA the front portion I8 is providedwith a flap I5, which is used; to forni a sheath with the inside of thefront |10. At the junction of the front I0 and the sheath member I5,acurved slot I6 is cut as shown in Fig. 6, forming an extension or sheathflapl I1 of the front portion Ill. This sheath flap IT may have theshape of the sheath flap I'Ia, shown in Fig. 13 viewed from the front ofthe envelope. The back portion II has an extension 2U integraltherewith, and this is preferably provided with a snuous shapedv side2i. member I8 is preferably provided with spots 22 of adhesive. Theadhesive lane I4 extends along the marginal portion of the back portioni l, and over the tongue 20. The lane M extendsalso on to the extensionas at 22a. Crease or bendv lines are provided, namely I3a for the ap I3;12a for the back portion I2; IIa for the other back portion II; I5a forthe sheath forming fiap I5; and Zila. for tongue re-inforcing member I8enable the parts described to be folded in the desired envelopepositions, in the manner welli known.

The re-inforcing member I8. is folded along the line 26a and reinforcesthe lateral edge portion of the back portion II, the adhesive holdingthe parts together. The nap I3 is folded along the line |30.; then thetwo back portions II and IZ are folded along the lines Ila and I2a andsecured to the flap I3 by the adhesive in the lanes,

Thereby the envelope pocket is formed. When so folded, the sheathforming member I5* is inserted into the envelope pocket as shown in,Fig. 2, and the tongue 20 extends out of the pocket as shown in dottedlines in` Fig. 1.

After the contents have been inserted into the envelope proper, thesheath forming flap I5 having been tucked in to form the sheath insideof the envelope, the tongue 20 is inserted into, the slot I5. The tip ofthe tongue 20 strikes.

` the extension Il', and is guided thereby in order to enter the sheathformed by the frontportion IB and by the inner flap I5. The base of the.tongue 2B isi disposed slightly off center or slightly displaced so asto take the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5. After the tongue20 has` been completely inserted it is released and then. it springsinto. the position. shown. infull lineay in Fig. 5.y This facilitatesthe entrance.y of' the. tongue into the slot, andgives. a good holdingaction.` The tongue 20 has. aVV curvedA part Z1 A tongue reinforcing;

which also acts as a camming lock preventing the tongue from coming outor being forced out` by the contents of the envelope. If desired, theadhesive spot 22 on the rear of the tongue may be moistened, and thenpressure will cause the tongue to adhere, and thereby seal the envelope.It will be noted that the tongue 22 bridges the open end of theenvelope, as shown in Fig. 4.

In the modified form shown in Fig. 7, the tongue is formed of two looseparts 2t and 2l, the tongue 25 being guided by the sheath ap l'i andentering the slot it as described, and the tongue 27 entering a slot 28in the front wall lil, the

tongue 2l being provided with a spot 29 of adhesive, to seal theenvelope if desired. Both tongues 2t and 2 may be inserted into Vtheslot I6 if desired, which enables the envelope to be openable. Figures 7to 10 show the double tongue embodiment.

The tongue 30 in Fig. 11 may be provided with a notch 3l, and this isengaged by the folded portion of the sheath ap l5, when the tongue isinserted. Or, the tongue 3| of Fig. l2 may be without curves or notch,and has even or straight sides, and may then be inserted into thesheath` portion.

The tongues 3i) and 3l of Figures 11 and 12 are given as examples.Either may be provided with sinuous curves, or made in two parts asdescribed; or the tip may be made flat, as shown for instance in Fig. 7.Or, the tongue 26 or 2l, or the tongue 2E?, may have its ends curved orpointed as shown in Figs. 11 and 12.

The important feature is the provision of the sheath by bending over aap of one end f the front portion i9, in the embodiments shown, andproviding an entrance slot for the sheath, and providing a tongue on theopposed rear or back portion, so that the tongue bridges the open end ofthe envelope and enters into the slot and is frictionally engaged by thesheath portion, whereby a simple and efficient closure of an envelope isprovided. The tongue is made of material which is otherwise wasted, whenthe usual closing flap l is out from the blank. The envelope may be usedin the mails without the contents emerging, as the tongue in the sheathprovides a secure closing member.

When the double tongue as shown in Fig. 7 is preferred, the blank ofFig. 6 is provided with a slit for the length of the tongue along thescore line 23a.

The invention has been described in connection with a single seamenvelope, but it is applicable to a double side seam envelope, in whichcase the tongue is secured preferably by an adhesive to the backportion, so as to enter the slot in the sheath, which slot may bestraight, instead of curved, if so desired.

The word envelope includes articles commonly known in the trade as bags,for shipment of merchandise, which bags are made by the identicalenvelope making machinery.

I have described several forms of my invention, but obviously variouschanges may be made in .the details disclosed without departing from thespirit of the invention as set out in the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a single seam envelope consisting of a single front, two sideflaps on the sides of said front permanently joined at their free endsto form, the back, a bottom flap folded over the two side flaps formingthe back and permanently joined thereto, and aap extending from thefront beyond the back and having a fold line adapted to form aclosingiiap for the envelope, the combination of a sheath formed by theclos"- ing flap placed between the front and back with a slot on thefold line of the closing flap, a tongue ap on one of the side flapssubstantially of a length equal to the length of the closing nap and ofa width substantially equal to the width of the slot, whereby theentrance of the tongue ap into said slot, and the bridging of the spacebetween the front and the closing flap and the engaging of the sheath,the front and back are held closed without the need of other fasteningmeans.

2. The structure of claim 1, in which said tongue has a width at itsbase substantially equal to the length of the slot and has a curvedportion at one side of the tongue.

3. The structure of claim l, in which said tongue has a curved portionof sinuous shape and a narrower part at its base of substantially thelength of the slot.

The structure of claim 1, in which said tongue has a curved portion ofsinuous shape, the curved edge of the tongue being out of alignment withan edge of said slot, and the part of the tongue at its base registeringwith one end of the slot.

5. The structure of claim 1 in which said tongue has a curved portion ofsinuous shape, the curved edge of the tongue being out of alignment withan edge of said slot, and a spot of adhesive on one side of said tongue.

6. The structure of claim 1, in which said tongue has a curved portionof sinuous shape, the curved edge of the tongue being out of alignmentwith an edge of said slot, and a spot of adhesive on one side of saidtongue, said tongue being formed of superposed parts, one of whichenters said slot of said sheath, and said first body portion having aslot near the edge slot engaged by the other tongue.

'7. The structure of claim 1, in which the front has an extension alongthe slot extending beyond the edge of the front to act as a guide forthe entrance of the tongue into said slot.

8. As an article of manufacture, a blank for a single seam envelope,comprising a front portion, surroimded by side nap portions and a bottomap portion, scored `to be bent to form an envelope with adhesive to joinsaid ilap portions to form a single seam envelope with three ends closedand one end open, another flap portion adapted to be bent inside theenvelope forming a crease and a sheath along one edge of the frontportion at the open end, and having a slot in the crease, one of theenvelope forming side ap portions having an extension `parallel with thesheath forming nap portion, to utilize the material of one of the sideflaps ordinarily waste, to form a tongue of substantially the samelength of the sheath flap and of a width substantially the same as theslot.

9. In an envelope consisting of a single front, two side aps o-n thesides of said front, a bottom nap folded over thetwo side flaps andpermanently joined thereto the form the back, and a flap extending fromthe front beyond the back and having a fold line adapted to form aclosing flap for the envelope, the combination of a sheath formed by theclosing flap placed between the front and back with a slot on the foldline of the closing flap, a tongue nap on the back flaps substantiallyof a length equal to the length of the closing nap and of a widthsubstantially equal to the Width of the slot, whereby by the entrance ofthe tongue ap into said slot, and the bridg- 5 ing of the space betweenthe front and the closing ap and the engaging of the sheath, the frontand back are held closed Without the need of other fastening means.

EDWARD R. WHITE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the flle ofthis patent:

Number 6 UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Sales Apr. 13, 1909 CaldwellJune 3, 1913 Bergstrom Apr. 13, 1915 Carr et al June 13, 1916 KramerFeb. 25, 1919 Gay May 13, 1919 Sperpan Sept. 21, 1926

